


See you next Thursday

by hannefm



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, bonding over a love of dogs, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-09-01 13:31:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16766119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannefm/pseuds/hannefm
Summary: Long, early morning commutes can be kind of depressing, especially for a student. But when a handsome stranger decides to strike up conversation with a beanie wearing student on the Thursday morning bus, it becomes a little more bearable.





	1. Beanie Boy (Victor's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 is Victor's POV of events, Chapter 2 is Yuuri's POV

Victor never really minded getting up early. He had always considered himself somewhat of a morning person. However, he had not slept very well last night due to a headache and then, to make matters worse, the fire alarm had gone off at 3am.  
  
By the time his phone alarm finally blared at 6am, Victor had gotten a grand total of 2 hours sleep. He groaned as he tapped his phone to turn off the alarm before begrudgingly dragging himself out of bed. _At least my headache is gone._ He thought.  
  
As he got on with his morning routine, he noticed an incoming text from Chris:  
  
[Chris] – _Got any plans this evening?_  
  
Victor gave a small sigh.  
  
His best friend had been particularly concerned with how few friends Victor had made since arriving at this new university. He had moved here just over a month ago and besides a few people from his course and Chris, Victor didn’t really have many friends in the city.  
  
It’s not that Victor was antisocial, he just didn’t really go out of his way to meet new people and most of his time was taken up by studying for his doctorate.  
  
As such, Chris had taken it upon himself to try and drag Victor out to social events more often, and that was very likely what this text was about.  
  
Victor would love to meet up with Chris, but he couldn’t today, so he sent back a quick “ _Sorry, I have an assignment I need to work on tonight :(_ ” before grabbing his bag, bidding a sleepy Makkachin goodbye and leaving his room.  
  
As he locked the door behind him, he noticed a man with a cute black beanie going down the hall and leaving the building.  
  
Victor had yet to actually speak to any of the other students in his building yet. Well, except from going to complain at the guy who lived in the room above his, who had very considerately decided to blast his music at 2am once. But Victor didn’t really count that.  
  
Maybe he should take Chris’ advice and start talking to more people and put himself out there more.  


* * *

  
Victor just about made it to the bus stop in time. As soon as he arrived, he saw the bus appear in the distance.  
  
Victor sighed in relief. _Made it._ He thought.  
  
He was moving to queue behind the other person at the bus stop when he noticed that it was the student with the cute beanie. And now that Victor can see the man better, he noticed that he had a cute face to match.  
  
Luckily for Victor the man was too occupied with whatever was on his phone to notice that he was staring a little too much.  
  
The bus pulled up to the curb, catching the man’s attention as he moved to board the bus, Victor just behind him.  
  
The man went and sat down, and Victor followed, sitting down in the seat in front of the man.  
  
Victor _had_ just been thinking about how he needed to talk to people more. Plus, some conversation might make this dull, half-an-hour long bus ride that little bit more bearable. So, Victor bit the bullet, and turned around, smiling at the man.  
  
The man noticed him right away, looking at him a bit nervously, likely wondering what this random guy wanted, but smiling back anyway.  
  
“Hey, are you living in the student apartment building around here too?” Victor asked.  
  
The man looks a bit confused at that. “Um, yeah?” He answered, unsurely.  
  
“Ah, so do I! I saw you leaving this morning. Your beanie is adorable by the way. It almost looks like it has cat ears!”  
  
“Thanks.” The man stuttered.  
  
“So, did you hear the fire alarm go off last night?”  
  
The beanie wearing man looks at him, even more confused. “No? Which floor do you live on?”  
  
“Oh. I’m on the ground floor. How about you?”  
  
“I’m on the 4th floor. Maybe it only went off for you? Although that doesn’t seem right…”  
  
“It doesn’t. Maybe I should ask the building manager about it. Anyway, you’re very lucky. It went off at 3am and I’d already had enough difficulty sleeping as it was.” Victor said exasperatedly.  
  
The man looked at him with sympathy. “That sucks, I barely managed to get out of bed myself this morning.”  
  
“What has you up so early anyway?” Victor asked. Few students chose to be out and about this early in the morning.  
  
“Well, my class today is at the university’s secondary campus, so I had to leave extra early to be able to make it there for 9am.”  
  
“I’ve never been to that campus. But it’s quite far isn’t it? And this bus doesn’t even go there?”  
  
The man sighed. “Yeah, at the beginning of the semester they helpfully cancelled the bus that left from here and went straight to my campus. Now I have to get this bus to main campus and then another bus from there to my campus.”  
  
Victor frowned. “Ugh, that must suck. How long does it take you to get there?”  
  
“Around an hour and half, but I try to get there a bit early, so I can go over my reading notes before class.”  
  
“That’s very sensible of you.”  
  
“What about you, why are you here so early?”  
  
“I help teach a class on Thursday mornings at the main campus. I like to go early too so I can help out the professor with the class preparation or to get some study time in at the café beforehand.”  
  
“That’s cool. What course are you studying?”  
  
“I’m working towards my doctorate in sports science. What about you?”  
  
“I’m in my final year studying for my bachelor’s degree in physics.”  
  
“Wow that must be really difficult!” Victor said.  
  
The man gave a shy laugh. “I guess it is, but I enjoy it so it’s okay. But what about your course? I mean you’re studying for your doctorate, that must be a lot of work.”  
  
Victor hummed in agreement. “Well yes, but like you, I enjoy my course so it’s not too bad. Just very time consuming and stressful sometimes.”  
  
“I can imagine.”  
  
The two continued their pleasant conversation until they reached the stop for main campus. The two proceeded to get off the bus together.  
  
“I need to go over the road to catch my next bus, but it was nice talking to you, I’ll see you around!” The man promised as he left, giving Victor a smile and wave as he went.  
  
“See you!” Victor replied, as he watched him go.  
  
It was nice, Victor thought, how naturally their conversation had progressed, and whilst he felt somewhat energized from the interaction, he was sad to see the man leave. _At least he lives nearby, I’m sure I’ll bump into him again!_ Victor thought with hope, before realising _Wait…what was his name?!_  


* * *

  
Victor did not see the cute beanie boy again until the following Thursday morning as he hurried to the bus stop once more.  
  
The man was stood there waiting for the bus, beanie on, headphones in and staring at his phone. Victor called out to him with a 'Hey!' as he approached.  
  
The man looked up at Victor, a small smile brightening his face before he returned the greeting, removing his headphones.  
  
“Another early Thursday huh?” Victor asked with a small chuckle.  
  
“Yup.” The man sighed. “My class is every Thursday morning this semester after all.”  
  
“Ah, of course. Well how was your week anyway?”  
  
“Same as usual I guess, but the work is already starting to pile up and it’s only the third week of the semester!”  
  
“I know that feeling.” Victor agreed, shoulders slumping. “I expect it’ll only get worse as the semester goes on.”  
  
Again, the conversation continued effortlessly between the two until they reached their destination. The two of them got off the bus together before separating.  
  
“See you next Thursday!” Victor said.  
  
“Yeah, see you!” The man responded as he turned to walk away.  
  
Instantly, Victor realised that he had forgotten to ask him for his name _again_. How could they have spoken to each other for this long without either of them thinking to ask the other’s name?  
  


* * *

  
A few weeks and a few more encounters with bus boy later, and Victor was out to dinner with Chris.  
  
“Honestly Victor? Isn’t asking someone their name one of the first questions you ask a stranger? Or at least you should have introduced yourself by now.” Chris chuckled.  
  
“I know! But I guess we kind of just skipped over it? And now it’s been four weeks and isn’t it weird to ask what his name is now?”  
  
“Well, it might be a little odd but it’s better than us having to refer to him as ‘the cute beanie boy you met on the bus’.”  
  
“True.”  
  
“Although it is kind of mysterious, not knowing his name. Makes it a bit more exciting hm?” Chris said with a wink.  
  
Victor had been taking a sip of his drink and choked a bit on it before whining “Chriiiiis.”  
  
“Oh, come on. I can tell by the way you talk about him you’re into him.”  
  
There was a pause.  
  
“No comment.” Victor stated defiantly.  
  
“That’s as good as a yes.” Chris smirked. “Who knew all it took to get you a boyfriend was for you to talk to strangers on the bus.” Chris teased.  
  
Victor sighed. “Can you _not_ , I doubt he’s even into me like that. He’s just…a really nice person. Who apparently tolerates a complete stranger bothering him on the bus every week.”  
  
“Hmm, well I haven’t met him yet, so I can’t say for sure, but darling have you seen yourself?” Chris asked, gesturing to Victor. “There are very few men who would say no to you. And you seem to get on well enough on a personal level considering he’s made the effort to keep the conversations going this long. You should at least ask for his number.”  
  
“We’ve discussed this, I need to ask for his _name_ first.”  
  
“Well yes, shortly followed by asking him for his number though.” Chris insisted.  


* * *

  
The next time Victor saw beanie boy was not on their usual Thursday morning commute, but it was still at their usual bus stop.  
  
It was a little after midday on Saturday, and Victor was taking Makkachin on the bus to take her for a walk along the riverside.  
  
The man was already waiting at the bus stop. This time though, he did not have headphones in and he looked up when he heard Victor approaching. A grin spread across his face as he recognised Victor, and it made Victor’s heart flutter.  
  
“Hey!” The man greeted, before his eyes flickered down to the dog beside Victor.  
  
Well, the dog that _was_ beside Victor and was now sprinting at the man, tugging the leash out of Victor’s weak grasp.  
  
Victor watched in mild horror as his dog barrelled into beanie boy, knocking him to the ground.  
  
“Makkachin no!” He shouted, chasing after the mischievous dog.  
  
To his surprise (and relief) the man laughed. And rather than shoving Makkachin off of himself immediately, he petted her gently as she panted excitedly, begging for his attention.  
  
Victor squatted down next to them. “I’m so sorry. She’s usually better behaved.” He apologised as he reached to pull her away from the man.  
  
“It’s fine! She’s adorable so I don’t mind.” The man beamed, but he did let Victor tug the dog away so that he could stand up.  
  
Makkachin let out a sad whine at being pulled back from her target, prompting the man to start petting her again.  
  
“I’m guessing her name is Makkachin then?” The man asked.  
  
“Yes, it is.” Victor confirmed, staring in awe as the man scratched behind Makkachin’s ear. After a moment of watching the two, his brain finally jumped back into gear. “Ah! I’ve been meaning to ask actually. I know we’ve been talking for weeks and all, but I don’t think we ever exchanged names?”  
  
The man snapped his gaze away from Makkachin to look at Victor. “You’re right! I kept intending to ask, but once we got talking, I would just forget.” He laughed.  
  
“Well then, let me introduce myself. My name is Victor.” Victor said, with a small flourish and a charming smile, causing the man to blush a little.  
  
“It’s nice to meet you Victor, my name is Yuuri.” He replied.  
  
_Yuuri_. Victor repeated sweetly in his mind. And now it was Victor’s turn to blush. “That’s a lovely name Yuuri~.” He sang.  
  
The bus pulled up then, cueing the two to board it. They chose to sit near the front to give Makkachin plenty of space to sit.  
  
“So, what brings you onto the bus this fine Saturday?” Victor asked.  
  
“I’m just going food shopping.” Yuuri answered. “What about you?”  
  
“I thought the weather looked nice so I’m taking Makka for a walk along the riverside.” Victor replied. “You’re welcome to walk with us if you’d like?”  
  
“I’d love to! Um, that is if you don’t mind.” Yuuri said, pink tinting his cheeks.  
  
“Of course, it’s fine, I think we’d both appreciate some extra company.”  


* * *

  
Once they arrived, they got off the bus and walked two minutes to the riverside path. The two strolled and chatted for a bit as they enjoyed the sunny weather. Victor tried to walk beside Yuuri, however Makkachin seemed insistent on trotting between the two of them so that Yuuri could give her occasional head pats.  
  
They wondered across a nearby field before Victor suggested that they take a seat at the bench close by so that he could let Makkachin loose for a bit. Yuuri agreed happily and the two sat as Victor unclipped Makkachin’s leash.  
  
Usually, Makkachin would take this opportunity to bolt off and run around in such a large open space, but instead, she decided she would rather seize the chance to tackle Yuuri again.  
  
Fortunately, as he was already sitting down, the large poodle could not push Yuuri to the ground as she had earlier, but she did put her paws up on his chest and promptly began licking his face, causing Yuuri to laugh with joy and hug her in return.  
  
Victor knew Makkachin was a friendly dog, but he had never known her to take to someone so strongly, so quickly. Not that he could really blame her. Yuuri was a delightful person, and he clearly adored her in exchange.  
  
“She really seems to like you. Have you been sneaking her treats or something?” Victor joked.  
  
“I promise I haven’t been. Strangely enough, I don’t just carry dog treats on me.”  
  
“Oh, but if you had some with you, you would give them to her?”  
  
“Of course! She’s such a good girl, aren’t you?” Yuuri said, refocusing his attention on Makkachin. Eventually, Victor took out a ball, handing it to Yuuri to throw. Yuuri showed it to Makkachin before hurling it away, and finally she jumped down, running to fetch the ball.  
  
Yuuri and Victor watched her fondly as she chased after it.  
  
“You know, I have a dog that looks just like her back home. Only he’s a toy poodle so he’s much smaller.” Yuuri told Victor.  
  
_Oh my god he has a dog too?! And a poodle at that!_ Victor thought with excitement.  
  
“Wow, really? What’s their name? Can I see them? Do they like other dogs?” Victor enthused, eyes lit up with the joy of potentially meeting Yuuri’s dog.  
  
Yuuri seemed to return his enthusiasm. “His name is Vicchan! Ah, but when I said he’s back home I meant he’s with my family back in Japan. But I can show you pictures if you’d like? My sister sends me them all the time.”  
  
Victor quickly nodded his head.  
  
Yuuri took out his phone from his pocket and pulled up some images of his dog. Victor looked at them with adoration. Just as Yuuri had told him, the little dog looked a lot like his own Makkachin, but he was much smaller. “He’s so precious Yuuri. Why did you leave him in Japan? Now I’ll have to fly all the way there just to meet him!”  
  
Yuuri chuckled. “Sorry, the places that I stayed in during first and second year didn’t allow dogs, plus he doesn’t really like travelling so I didn’t want to drag him all the way here.”  
  
“Hm, I suppose those are acceptable reasons to leave such a cutie behind.”  
  
“My family take very good care of him for me. I miss him a lot though. I haven’t been back there since I started studying here two years ago.”  
  
Concern flitted across Victor’s eyes. “You haven’t been home in two years?”  
  
“I haven’t. It’s just…” Yuuri began nervously. “I kind of just wanted to immerse myself in living here you know? Not to mention how expensive flights can be.”  
  
“I can appreciate that. But I’m sure your family must miss you.”  
  
“They do, I miss them too, but we videocall each other all the time which helps a lot.”  
  
Victor hums.  
  
The two continue to watch Makkachin play. She occasionally brings the ball back to them, wanting them to throw it for her, which they do so gladly.  
  
However, all good things must come to an end, and eventually Yuuri let Victor know that he had to get going.  
  
“I need to do my shopping before I go out later.” He explained. “I’m meeting up with my group for a group assignment.”  
  
“Oh, okay then.” Victor said. He knew this could not last forever, but God he wished it could. “I better take Makkachin home now anyway. But I’ll see you next Thursday?”  
  
Yuuri smiled. “Yeah, see you next Thursday.”  


* * *

  
When Victor got home after his little jaunt by the river with Yuuri, he removes his shoes and Makkachin’s leash before collapsing on the couch and texting Chris.  
  
_I finally know his name!!_ – [Victor]  
_It’s ‘Yuuri’ <3_ – [Victor]  
  
[Chris] – _Well done! But it isn’t Thursday? How did you find out?_  
  
_We bumped into each other on the bus when I was taking Makka for a walk_ – [Victor]  
_He came on the walk with us!_ – [Victor]  
_He loves dogs Chris! I thought I liked him before, but he was so good with Makka and he has his own poodle too! MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT_ – [Victor]  
_I think I might love him_ – [Victor]  
  
[Chris] – _I knew it! And I’m glad to hear he was good to Makka <3_  
  
_God, I think Makka might love him more than she loves me. She rarely left his side the whole time_ \- [Victor]  
  
[Chris] - _D’aw_  
[Chris] – _You’ll have to fight her for his attention_  
[Chris] - _Well you’ve got his name now. Did you get his number too?_  
  
_No :(_ \- [Victor]  
_I want to ask but I just don’t know how to without coming on too strong_ – [Victor]  
_You know what I’m like_ – [Victor]  
  
[Chris] – _Well you better figure it out soon_  
[Chris] – _He seems like a keeper and there are only so many Thursdays left in this semester and who knows when you’ll bump into him next_  


* * *

  
The weeks go by and somehow Victor would fall a little more for Yuuri each time they spoke. But as the semester drew to an end, sadness seeped into Victor's heart. He kept getting cold feet when he went to ask for Yuuri’s number, praying that Yuuri would just ask him instead. But he hadn’t yet.  
  
Their weekly commute together may soon come to an end, as the end of the semester would bring about the end of their current timetables. Whilst Victor could hope that their timetables would match up so that he could continue to enjoy his commute with Yuuri, there was no guarantee of that happening.  


* * *

  
The final week of semester came all too soon. Their morning commute began ordinarily enough, besides the constant thought of “ _You need to ask him now idiot_ ” looping through Victor’s head.  
  
Before he knew it, the bus had arrived at its stop and the two had to get off. As they were about to part-ways, Victor panicked. He should have done this earlier, but here he was at the last minute, about to bumble his way through this.  
  
“Hey, um, are you single?” Victor asked as they stood by the university’s bus stop.  
  
Yuuri’s face tinted pink. “Um, yeah?”  
  
“So am I.” Victor commented before quickly realising that was perhaps a strange statement to make. “I was wondering, would you like to go on a date sometime? Maybe for dinner?”  
  
Yuuri’s eyes widened, blush intensifying. “Really? Um, I’d like that a lot actually.”  
  
Victor felt relief wash over him. “How does Saturday sound?”  
  
“That would be great.” Yuuri responded looking at Victor softly before quickly glancing towards his next bus stop. “Look, I really want to talk about this, I do, but I also really need to go catch my bus, it’ll be there any minute and…”  
  
“Of course, here’s my number, just text me when you can!” Victor said handing Yuuri a slip of paper with his phone number on.  
  
Yuuri smiled. “Thanks! I need to get going, but I’ll talk to you soon.”  


* * *

  
It wasn’t until that evening, after an exhausting day at university that Victor got the message he had been waiting all day for.  
  
[Unknown] – _Hey Victor, this is Yuuri! :)_  
[Unknown] – _Sorry I took so long to send this to you, it’s been a hectic day!_  
  
Victor could not contain the smile that spread over his face at seeing the messages.  
  
_Hi Yuuri!_ – [Victor]  
  
Makkachin had been lying next to him on the couch when he received the message. So, he took a quick photo of her before sending it to Yuuri.  
  
_[image0.jpg] Makkachin says hi too!_ – [Victor]  
  
[Yuuri <3] - _!!!!!_  
[Yuuri <3] – _She’s so cute, tell her I say hi back <3_  
  
_Will do!_ – [Victor]  
_So about that dinner? What time works best for you?_ – [Victor]  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! It’s been so long since I wrote something and actually published it, I hope you liked it!
> 
> This little one-shot was based on something that happened to me in real life recently (although what happened with me was just friendly, I’ve romanticised it for the sake of the OTP). I thought it would make for a cute OTP prompt, so I wrote this! I hope you enjoyed it :D
> 
> If anyone’s interested in what actually happened to me: a girl who lives in my building randomly started talking to me on the bus a few weeks ago and we kinda bonded over our long, 2 bus commute to uni and now we sit and talk on the bus every Friday! And much like in the story, I don’t actually know her name :’) I really should just ask her but I keep forgetting!
> 
> I’m tempted to write a second chapter depicting the same events but from Yuuri’s POV. Let me know if you’d be interested in that.


	2. Bus Boy (Yuuri's POV)

Yuuri was so done. Not only had the bus he used to get to his university campus been cancelled, but now one of his lectures had been moved to 9am. _Why do 9am lectures even exist?_ Yuuri thought in disgust.  
  
A 9am lecture may not have been the end of the world, but due to the aforementioned cancelled bus, it now took Yuuri at least an hour and a half to get to university, and sometimes longer when he had to travel during rush hour. All his classes this semester had originally been in the afternoon or evening which he could deal with, because he _didn’t have to get up before 7am_. And of course, Yuuri being the model student and worrywart that he was (and because he had little faith in the timeliness of the buses in this town), he had to get the earlier bus, just to be sure he made it to class on time.  
  
So there he was, hurriedly getting dressed at 6:55am before shovelling some breakfast in his mouth, grabbing his bag and making his way down the four flights of stairs to the building’s front entrance.  
  
As he walked hastily to the bus stop, he put on his headphones and checked the bus app on his phone to see whether the bus was still running on time.  


* * *

  
Once Yuuri had boarded the bus, he sat down and looked out the bus’s window, watching the world go by as he listened to his music.

Movement in front of him caught his attention, prompting him to turn away from the window. The man that had sat in front of him had twisted around to look at him.

He’s beautiful. Yuuri’s traitorous mind immediately supplied, wooed by the stranger’s handsome face. Before Yuuri could pull enough of his tired brain cells together to ask what the silver haired man wanted, the man spoke to him.

“Hey, are you living in the student halls around here too?”

Yuuri was puzzled as to why the man had asked him that but he still managed to give a confused “Um, yeah?” in response.

The man seemed to perk up a bit at that. “Ah, so do I! I saw you leaving this morning. Your beanie is adorable by the way. It almost looks like it has cat ears!”

“Thanks.” Yuuri stuttered, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Much to Yuuri’s surprise, their conversation picked up from there. He learnt that the man was originally from St Petersburg and that he was new to the town. He also found out that the stranger was studying for his doctorate in sports science and this morning he was heading in early to help a professor out with a class.

Before he knew it, the bus had arrived at the main campus and it was time for Yuuri to change buses. The two hopped off the bus together, walking a few metres side-by-side before Yuuri had to go. “I need to go over the road to catch my next bus, but it was nice talking to you, I’ll see you around!” Yuuri said sincerely.

“See you!” the man replied with a beaming smile.  


* * *

  
When Yuuri got on his next bus, he saw his best friend and classmate Phichit Chulanont already waiting for him at the back of the bus.

“Hey Yuuri!” Phichit greeted him with a smile. “What’s up?” He asked, noticing that his friend looked a bit dazed as he sat down next to him.

“Hi. I…some hot guy from my accommodation building started talking to me on the bus today?” Yuuri said, still a bit stunned from the earlier encounter. Then he realised that he had, in fact, just used the word ‘hot’ out loud to describe the man he had met, causing a massive grin to spread across Phichit’s face.

“Oh? Please tell me more about this _hot_ stranger Yuuri.”

Yuuri’s face turned bright pink. “I just meant he’s good looking okay!” Yuuri said, not helping his case at all. “I mean…It’s just that…”

Phichit just laughed at him.

“If you’re just going to mock me, I’m not going to tell you about it.” Yuuri pouted.

“Aw, Yuuuuri, come on. You have to tell me, I’m your best friend!”

Yuuri turned away from him with a ‘hmph’.

“Pleeeeeease! At least tell me his name so I can try to find out more about him?”

 _His name…_ Yuuri thought. _Oh my god, I don’t even know his name!_ He realised.

Yuuri’s demeanour changed, the embarrassed tension leaving his posture and his expression morphing from a pout to a look of disbelief.

“Phichit, I don’t know his name!”  


* * *

  
The following Thursday, Yuuri was stood at the bus stop ready to catch the morning bus, when he heard someone to his side call out a greeting to him.

Yuuri looked up to see the man he met on the bus last week. “Hi!” Yuuri replied, pulling his headphones off his head.

“Another early Thursday huh?” The man said with a sympathetic smile.

“Yup.” Yuuri exhaled wearily. Whilst he was happy to see him again, it didn’t change the fact that he had only gotten a few hours’ sleep last night and was heading towards a 3-hour physics lecture. “My class is every Thursday this semester after all.”

“Ah, of course. Well how was your week anyway?”

The two continued to chat on their journey to university, until once again it was time to part ways.

“See you next Thursday!” The man exclaimed with a wave as he started to walk away.

Yuuri’s heart swelled at the thought of seeing him again. “Yeah, see you!”

* * *

  
Several weeks later and Yuuri was sat with Phichit as they ate their lunch in the university cafeteria after a long, torturous mechanics lecture.

“I still can’t believe you don’t know his name Yuuri. You must be doing it on purpose at this point.” Phichit laughed.

“I’m not! I don’t know why, but every time we talk I just…forget?”

“He must be really handsome to distract you that badly.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. Phichit really would not let the fact that Yuuri called the man ‘hot’ go. “Phi please.” He groaned. “It’s more like…we just get so caught up in conversation about other things, that I forget to stop and ask his name.”

“Well, he’ll just have to remain ‘bus boy’ then. Unless you’ve changed your mind and you’d prefer ‘Yuuri’s hot future husband’ as his nickname?” Phichit said with a teasing wink.

A blush crept over Yuuri’s skin. “Nope. Let’s stick with ‘bus boy’.” He mumbled.

Phichit sighed. “A shame, I think the other one is much better. Not to mention more accurate.”

* * *

  
Yuuri was waiting by the bus stop on a Saturday afternoon when he next saw bus boy. Once he noticed him approaching, he greeted the man with a smile. He then noticed movement next to the man and the next thing he knew, a speeding mass of brown fluff hurled into him, causing him to fall over.

 _It’s a poodle!_ Yuuri realised with joy.

“Makkachin no!” The man exclaimed.

The dog, presumably called Makkachin, crawled up Yuuri’s torso and began licking his face. In return Yuuri began petting the dog’s head in an attempt to soothe it.

“I’m so sorry.” The man apologised. “She’s usually better behaved.”

The man began pulling the dog off of him, and whilst Yuuri was a bit upset about it because he _loves dogs_ , he also wanted to get off the pavement.

“It’s fine! She’s adorable so I don’t mind.” He said, standing up and brushing himself off. The dog gave a whine at being pulled away from Yuuri, and began pawing at his feet, so Yuuri started petting her again.

“I’m guessing her name is Makkachin then?” Yuuri asked.

“Yes, it is.”

Yuuri knew that he should probably have kept the conversation going, but he had been far too distracted with Makkachin’s happy face. The dog’s eyes were closed in bliss as he ruffled her fur and cooed at her.

“Ah! I’ve been meaning to ask actually.” The man began, pulling Yuuri’s attention back to him. “I know we’ve been talking for weeks and all, but I don’t think we ever exchanged names?”

“You’re right! I kept intending to ask, but once we got talking, I would just forget.” He admitted shyly.

“Well then, let me introduce myself. My name is Victor.” Victor said, gesturing to himself with the most beautiful smile Yuuri had ever seen.

“It’s nice to meet you Victor.” Yuuri said, thrilled to finally put a name to the face. “My name is Yuuri.”  


* * *

  
During their ride across town, Victor had invited Yuuri to join him on his walk with Makkachin. Of course, Yuuri had accepted the offer.

 _How did I get so lucky?_ Yuuri wondered internally as he strolled along the riverside beside bus boy – _Victor_ – and his absolutely precious poodle. He was still in slight disbelief that Victor had offered to spend time with him.

“Yuuri, are you okay?” Victor asked, noticing that his walking companion’s mind was elsewhere.

“Sorry! Just…daydreaming. What did you say?”

“How has your day been?”

“Good I suppose. I slept in this morning, but I managed to get a bit of coursework done before coming out. How about yours?”

“It was good. I woke up early so I got a lot of research done this morning.” Victor paused for a moment. “Hey, would you mind if we take a seat over there, so I can let Makka run around for a bit?” Victor asked, pointing to a nearby bench.  
  
Their walk had taken them to a large open field a small distance from the river, the perfect location to let the dog roam freely for a while.  


“Sure, that sounds good to me.”

The two made their way to the bench and sat down. Yuuri laughed when Victor unclipped Makkachin’s leash and the lovable poodle attacked Yuuri again, licking his face.

“She really seems to like you. Have you been sneaking her treats or something?” Victor said jokingly.

Yuuri continued to give the poodle lots of head scratches as she carried on her loving assault. “I promise I haven’t been. Strangely enough, I don’t just carry dog treats on me.”

“Oh, but if you had some with you, you would give them to her?”

“Of course! She’s such a good girl, aren’t you?” Yuuri answered honestly. He looked at Makkachin and she barked back in reply as she snuffled at him. Yuuri’s heart melted. In his opinion, all dogs were good dogs, and whilst Yuuri _may_ have a _slight_ bias with his love for poodles in particular, Makkachin really was an exceptionally wonderful dog. Sweet, fluffy and well-behaved. Looking at her soft face reminded him of just how long it had been since he had seen his Vicchan. _Two years now…_ He thinks solemnly.

“Here, throw this for her.” Victor said, handing Yuuri a ball.

Yuuri waved the ball in front of Makkachin, and once her attention was on it, he threw it across the field and the dog chased after it.

“You know, I have a dog that looks just like her back home. Only he’s a toy poodle so he’s much smaller.” Yuuri told Victor.

Victor’s blue eyes lit up with excitement. “Wow, really? What’s their name? Can I see them? Do they like other dogs?”

 _How did I get so fortunate as to meet someone who is kind, handsome, smart and loves dogs?_ Yuuri wondered to himself. This whole situation seemed far too good to be true, yet here he was.

“His name is Vicchan!” Yuuri started eagerly, before remembering that Victor had asked to meet him. “Ah, but when I said he’s back home I meant he’s with my family back in Japan. But I can show you pictures if you’d like? My sister sends me them all the time.”

Victor nodded enthusiastically in answer.

Yuuri showed Victor many photos of his Vicchan and the two then continued to talk while playing catch with Makkachin.

Not long later, Yuuri looked at his phone and realised the time.

“This has been really fun Victor, but I need to get going now.” Yuuri said sheepishly. “I need to do my shopping before I go out later. I’m meeting up with my group for a group assignment.”

“Oh, okay.” Victor replied, seeming to deflate a little. “I better take Makkachin home now anyway. But I’ll see you next Thursday?”

“Yeah, see you next Thursday.” Yuuri said with a smile.

* * *

  
_Phi, he has a poodle!!_ – [Yuuri]  
_She’s called ‘Makkachin’ and she’s so cute and fluffy and she reminds me so much of Vicchan!_ – [Yuuri]  
_I love her <3_ – [Yuuri]

[Phichit] – _Whoa slowdown, who has a poodle?_  
[Phichit] – _(Also glad you got to meet such a good doggo today <3)_

 _Victor_ – [Yuuri]  
_We bumped into each other and went for a walk_ – [Yuuri]

[Phichit] – _Um okay and who is Victor?!_  
[Phichit] – _Does hot bus boy need to be worried?_

 _Right, sorry_ – [Yuuri]  
_He is hot bus boy_ – [Yuuri]  
_…_ \- [Yuuri]  
_I meant just ‘bus boy’ gdi_ – [Yuuri]

[Phichit] – _OMG YES_  
[Phichit] – _Well now that you know his name and that he has a dog too, shall I just go ahead and start with the wedding planning ;)_  
[Phichit] – _I’m thinking it could be poodle themed! Or maybe bus themed? What do you think?_

 _PHI PLEASE STOP_ – [Yuuri]  
_It’s not like that…_ \- [Yuuri]

[Phichit] – _Mhm_  
[Phichit] - _Of course not ;)_

 _PHI WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS_ – [Yuuri]  


* * *

  
The semester blew past Yuuri in a blur and far too soon, he was taking his seat on the bus with Victor for the final time that semester. _Possibly ever…_ His nervous mind provided.

 _Maybe I should just ask for his number or something._ Yuuri thought before his own brain betrayed him with a _'But if he actually wants to keep in contact, then he would have asked me for my number by now right?’_

His internal debate went on as he talked to Victor on their way to university.

Once the bus pulled up to their stop, the two hopped off and just before Yuuri could say his final goodbye, Victor spoke.

“Hey, um, are you single?” He asked.

Yuuri blinked. _Why would he ask that now?_ He thought before saying “Um, yeah?”

Yuuri had a good idea as to why Victor would be asking that, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe that that could be the reason, nor did he want to get his hopes up just yet.

“So am I.”

_Okay, that’s a weird response._

A light pink dusted Victor’s cheeks. “I was wondering, would you like to go on a date sometime? Maybe for dinner?”

Any thoughts that may have been streaming through Yuuri’s mind were immediately replaced with internal screaming. “Really?” He whispered in disbelief, before pulling himself together and continuing. “Um, I’d like that a lot actually.”

If Yuuri hadn’t been so stunned with the thought of _‘oh my god is this actually happening?’_ he might have noticed how Victor’s shoulders seemed to relax with his answer. “How does Saturday sound?”

“That would be great.” Yuuri said with a smile before looking over to his bus stop anxiously. “Look, I really want to talk about this, I do, but I also really need to catch my bus, it’ll be there any minute and...” Yuuri said, cursing his innate need to be a model student and to make it to his class on time.

“Of course, here’s my number, just text me when you can!” Victor said, pulling a slip of paper out of his jacket and handing it to Yuuri. _Did he have that prepared? Was he planning this?!_

“Thanks! I need to get going, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

* * *

  
Yuuri sat down next to Phichit on the bus.

“So?”

“I got his number.”

“Yes!” Phichit cheered.

“He may have also…asked me to go on a date?” Yuuri mumbled.

Phichit’s eyes lit up and he raised his arms in triumph. “Yes!” He exclaimed, loud enough to earn him some disapproving looks from the other passengers on the bus.  


* * *

  
Yuuri had been incredibly busy all day. He’d had lectures from 9am until 4pm, with a one-hour lunch break that was taken up with a group revision session in the library.

When he finally made it home that evening, he collapsed on his bed, pulled out the slip of paper he had received that morning and added the number on it to his phone.

 _Please let this be his actual number._ Yuuri prayed, hoping that Victor would not be so cruel as to have been pranking him.

 _Hey Victor, this is Yuuri! :)_ – [Yuuri]  
_Sorry I took so long to send this to you, it’s been a hectic day!_ – [Yuuri]

[Victor] – _Hi Yuuri!_  
[Victor] - _[image0.jpg] Makkachin says hi too!_

Yuuri was surprised at how quickly Victor had responded and he immediately saved the adorable photo of Makkachin curled up against Victor’s leg.

 _!!!!!_ – [Yuuri]  
_She’s so cute, tell her I say hi back <3_ – [Yuuri]

[Victor] – _Will do!_  
[Victor] – _So about that dinner? What time works best for you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** I finally got around to writing Yuuri’s POV, I hope you enjoyed it! Obviously, it’s kind of a re-write of last chapter but I hope there was enough new stuff to keep it interesting.  
> As always, thanks for reading! <3


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